Greenfield City Hall faces plumbing repairs

Greenfield City Hall. STAFF FILE PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Published: 12-19-2024 4:02 PM |
GREENFIELD — City Hall closures are anticipated as the Central Maintenance Department works to repair what Mayor Ginny Desorgher referred to as “significant plumbing issues.”
City Hall will be closed on either Friday, Jan. 3, or Friday, Jan. 10. Addressing City Council on Wednesday evening, Desorgher said the problems could potentially leave City Hall out of commission for as long as 10 days.
“The house trap — that’s sort of collapsed. If it’s just that, it will be three days; if it’s the pipe that goes out to the sewer, it’s going to be a much more significant change and we’ll have to have a new plan because that would be like probably a week or 10 days,” Desorgher told the council. “We’re all planning for what we would do next but I just wanted to alert you to the fact that this is a big problem.”
Desorgher added that this year, the 1848 building has seen numerous sewage backups — some of which led to evacuations upstairs and calls to the Fire Department — as well as heating issues.
Concerned about the building’s “vitality” long-term, Desorgher added that the Central Maintenance Department is drafting an emergency plan in the event that City Hall will face more significant structural issues in the future. She said the sewage pipe runs underneath the building’s condensers and can possibly impact heating.
Desorgher’s Chief of Staff Erin Anhalt, in a statement on Monday, noted that City Hall’s restrooms will be closed until the plumbing issues are resolved. She added that the necessary repairs will be done over the course of weekends to minimize any negative impact on the city’s day-to-day operations.
“I am concerned about the City Hall’s future viability because there’s so many issues that are actually with that building and last week we were kind of up against it,” Desorgher said. “Hopefully that pipe that goes out is not as severely damaged and is at the right angle.”
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Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.